Rinnai Drysoft 6 (RD-600AU)

electricity costs – this paid for it's self with reduced electricity bill .. it's very quick and does a full 6kg load it's exhausted through the ceiling then out a vent in the barge boards the soft dry handles all delicates with ease but as with all clothes dryer you must keep the filters clean if you don't want a house fire  Show details ·  2

Best drier I have ever used – This drier for me is a life saver and a money saver, I use it every day almost, I rarely hang out clothes any more especially with the crazy Melbourne weather, the clothes come out soft every time my gas and electricity bill have hardly changed. pays for it self  Show details ·  1

If you have a gas connection, they really are the way to go! – Super efficient, will dry a 6kg load in about 20 minutes flat, whilst maintaining soft crease-free moisture levels in the items to be dried. We opted for a gas connection in our laundry on advice from our architect on our new-build dwelling. Kilojoule for kilojoule gas is way more efficient at drying than electricity is, and unless you are using… Read more

your own solar power at the time of drying (unlikely) gas is certainly much cheaper too.

I have never yet had an electric dryer that had this sort of capacity either. Japanese manufactured, with very high build quality and finish, the machine is intuitive with a multitude of settings that we don't use, we just use a general automatic sensor setting that calculates moisture levels and drying times with perfect results each time. Two very small niggles though, (1) the machine size is a little wider (649mm) than standard front loading washing machines, (2) the viewing window in the door is not especially opaque, it is a bronze perspex, I guess I would have preferred a clearer viewing window - not that it effects the machines performance. You will find however that the upfront costs of this method of drying higher in the short run, the machine was about about the same purchase price as a higher-end European made electric dryer, also you need a gas connection in the laundry (minimal cost if renovating or building new) but costly otherwise. I am a penny-pinching Dutchman, but never skimp on quality appliances that I know I will get good long term use from. It is the capacity, drying-time efficiency, and cheapness to run that are stand-out features of this gas dryer, I know we will be well ahead in the longer run with this appliance.

Love this dryer!!! – Absolutely LOVE my dryer. Love the fluffy supersoft towels too. My only issue after 3 years, is the inner liner to the lint pocket has ripped. Given how much we use it, this is a totally minor complaint. Does anyone know where I can get a new one of these? I am in NZ and finding it uber difficult to source :( wonderful product though ..highly recommended.  Show details ·  1

Still good – I wrote a review after 2 years of purchasing this and now I'm following up as its been 6 years now since using it and we have only had two problems with it since which is not bad going. Firstly the lint holder cover inner had a rip in its delicate black fabric, the parts are fairly cheap to replace and have to be done via a retailer as Rinnai… Read more

don't send it to the consumer directly. Secondly the internal belt snapped ( we had the Rinnai authorised repairer come out to diagnose this) and he came out twice as has to order the parts, both trips at our cost amounted to total of $200 approx. The device would turn on and try to ignite but no heat and would stop turning after 5 mins and flash an error code. Apparently snapped belts according to the repairman aren't common so makes me wonder if it should have lasted more than 6 years approx before it snapped. Apart from this it has been a wonderful gas dryer for clothes .

Good efficient dryer – Got one for my new house. You do have to plan ahead with the gas fittings and flue pipe. A bit of a hassle to install but worth every cent especially if you have a big family. Very fast to dry and cheap to run. Also I love the soft fluffy towels just like the ones you get from hotels. I use it just for a whole load of towels even on sunny days.  Show reply

I loathe it – Yes, it dries fast and it's cheap to run, but it comes with a stack of down-sides no-one mentions: - It requires side access on both sides (electrics on the left and gas on the right), which mightn't be such an issue if it's on the ground, but when you're wall-mounting it you'll need to take this into account and not build it into the corner. … Read more

- It doesn't reverse, so your sheets will always roll into a ball and take lots of extra runs to finally dry. (I've had a reversing dryer for 10+ years and had even forgotten about the problem until the Rinnai went in.

- The 'glass' in the door is impervious to light. You can't see in (not even with a torch) to see if your sheets are tumbling or rolled into a ball. Yes, we tested the other way just in case it was in the wrong way 'round. Nope. Seems its purely cosmetic. (And the book says you're not allowed to open the door while it's running to check the load is tumbling correctly).

- The $200+ wall-mount bracket is of an inefficient design, making very poor use of space. The dryer's 35mm rubber feet sit on top of it rather than inside the folded metal, and the end result is the bracket needs to be so low on the wall that the top-loader underneath no longer opens fully. (The old Simpson/Westinghouse was of course fine in this configuration).

- The external flue kit is badly designed too. For anything but the simplest installation you'll need to cough up for another 1m of flue pipe. (My issue here was that I needed to go 'up' before I went 'out'. I had spare cut from the supplied pipe but couldn't use it as you need a 'socket' end on the pipe going into the right-angle).

I love my Rinnai instant gas hot water system and would buy another in a heartbeat should it become necessary, but not so the dryer. Unless you're washing a HELL of a lot and don't have space issues, I'd stick with an electric one. And good luck getting it to dry your sheets.